Chapter 5 – Change at Night

He could sense their presence and even distinguish between a monster and human. It was a long way before he could sense other things or figure out a person's gender or age, but he could definitely sense presence farther than before.

Entering a building and saving people wasn't a smart idea.

Once again, Vale wasn't a hero. He wouldn't endanger himself for strangers. He would save people if they were in danger and he had a chance, but jumping into a building full of monsters wasn't wise.

He chose to let the people handle themselves and continue to explore this area instead.

Night arrived sooner than Vale had remembered. It seemed like all walking and fighting monsters took more time than he had expected. Due to excitement, it moved faster than before.

He thought about taking a break at this time, but his luck was horrible.

A notification popped up in front of his eyes.

[Night has arrived. Apocalypse weather has begun.]

"What's Apocalypse weather?" He frowned at the ominous word.

And as if answering his question, the sky turned red as blood and then black. Flashing lightning and roaring thunder echoed in the air. Fog was everywhere, and the air became colder.

The ground shook violently, and monsters howled in excitement. They were gaining strength from this weather, and Vale could sense that it was not good.

"Hahaha..."

Apocalypse had truly invaded Earth.

"This is just too unfair for the people. Staying outside is bad."

Looking around, he noticed a large building in the distance. Even if fog covered its appearance, Vale could see it clearly due to its sheer size and its popularity. He didn't expect that he arrived at this area.

"Yankee Stadium."

That might be a fun place to visit in this apocalypse.

***

Vale arrived at Yankee Stadium in no time. When he passed by the parking lots, he saw many cars got flipped over or crashed into each other.

And more importantly, unlike in other places, he actually saw monster corpses here and there around this place. Meaning, there were people who fought back and won.

As he walked past the destroyed parking lot and came into the stadium through a large hole, he saw a bunch of people gathered in the center of the field. They were holding weapons of all kinds, bats and one even held a handgun, and faced a giant monster in front of them.

"Oh?"

The monster stood 5 meters tall. It was probably the one that made the hole he used to enter this place. Its skin was pinkish red, and it had two long horns on top of its head. It roared at the group in front of it, sending a wave of energy that blasted them backward.

"A demon?" He narrowed his eyes at the monster's appearance.

Demons were common in a fantasy novel. However, seeing a monster with the same appearance as a demon here on Earth was no joke.

'Could it be because of the apocalypse?' He wondered. 'System only mentioned monsters, not demons. Or maybe it also classified demons as monsters?'

Anyway, that wasn't important now. Demons were indeed stronger and could use Magic, but that didn't mean Vale couldn't kill it.

More importantly, the battle in the stadium started. The group had 5 people, two which had metal bats, two had knives, and one had a handgun. They didn't look like experts but had courage.

"Kill it! Don't let it live!" One of them yelled out as they charged toward the demon. It was a young man who looked like a student in his early 20s. His face was determined, and he looked like he had been in a fight before.

"Die!" Another man screamed as he swung his bat upward. His attack was strong enough to create a bruise on the demon's arm, causing it to bleed red blood.

The others didn't lag behind and attacked at the same time. They shouted and yelled as they attacked the demon together. The one holding a handgun carefully pointed at the demon's eye, a good decision on his part.

"Concentration." He said something and his eyes glowed slightly.

Vale managed to catch that. It was probably an ability to increase his accuracy or something.

The man fired three shots in quick succession and hit the demon's eyes precisely, causing it to roar out in pain and swinging its arm wildly in front of it.

Everyone retreated at once at the first young man's command.

"Oh, fiery flame. Form in front of me and burn my enemy alive!" The young man raised his arm and chanted something in a weird language.

Then, a circle appeared in front of him, and a small fireball shot out from it. Vale's eyes widened slightly at that display as he watched it hit the demon's belly and exploded, creating a small explosion.

Compared to the mage monster he fought earlier, it was like a baby fireball. But it was still impressive.

'Ability to use Magic without any knowledge or training... Interesting.' He smiled lightly and decided to make a mental note of that.

However, the demon was still alive and angry. It stomped its feet on the ground and opened its mouth wide, charging its power for an attack. Lump of magic gathered inside its throat, preparing to shoot something.

"Ah, that looks bad." Vale commented.

At the same time, the young man, who looked like the leader of the group, shouted.

"That looks bad. Scatter!"

They didn't need to be told twice as they ran away in different directions. The demon roared and shot its attack toward the center of the field, destroying everything in its path.

The group was no longer in front of the demon anymore when the attack hit the ground. The leader had run to the edge of the field and prepared for his next attack.

He raised his arm and pointed at the demon, chanting something again. His eyes glowed slightly, and a small fireball appeared in front of him once again. This time, he didn't shoot it and kept it floating in front of him.

"Damian!" He called out to his friend, the one who held the gun, "Get ready!"

"You got it!" Damian grinned as he charged up his power too.

He had a slight glow on his eyes too, and the handgun in his hand was covered in a bluish light. Vale recognized that as Mana.

Just as he wanted to observe it further, the one called Damian already shouted.

"Power Shot!"

The leader followed suit. "Fireball!"

They shot their respective attacks at the same time. A bullet and a small fireball rushed toward the demon from different directions and exploded on its body.

A loud bang echoed in the air as smoke filled the field. Cheers erupted from the other two guys holding a bat and the only girl holding a knife.

However...

"Don't let your guard down!" Vale shouted loudly.

"Eh?"

It was too late.